Steering Teens Away from a Fascination with Darkness

This is all correct and I agree with it; however, be careful not to brand kids as "evil" or having an obsession with darkness, or being involved in the occult just because they dress goth or in all black. My husband and I are part of the christian heavy metal culture, and we are also in youth ministry. We have had several encounters with goth kids whose parents or grandparents were professing to be christians, and told them they were "going to hell" because of the way they dress. Many christian parents need to be aware that there is a valid gothic and metal ministry out there - with real christians who really do love Jesus, but are called into that style. If your kids are truly steering in that direction, perhaps another idea would be to plug them into the local christian rock scene. Maybe take them to some concerts or to see some local christian bands. They can also meet some christian kids this way, whose style may be similar to theirs. :-)